Christmas
Christmas Cards
Send e-cards or an email with your own Christmas design. If you buy cards, choose those made from recycled paper or at least ensure they have FSC logo. Cards with glitter etc are difficult to recycle.
Some shops collect cards for recycling after Christmas in aid of the Woodland Trust. In 2014, M&S stores will have special bins for these from 2-31 January. Otherwise they can be recycled in the blue lidded kerbside bin for cardboard/plastic bottles collection.
Christmas Trees
Live trees, with roots, can be planted directly in the garden or into a container for reuse next year.
If you already have an artificial tree, use it every year rather than throwing it away and buying live trees.
Wiltshire Council collects real Christmas trees with the kerbside garden waste collection in the weeks after Christmas (you'll get a leaflet through the door). The trees are shredded and turned into compost. You can purchase this compost, produced from green waste in Wiltshire, at the Marlborough Household Recycling Centre. The compost conforms to BS PAS100. Real trees can also be taken to one of the Household Recycling Centres.
Decorations
Use natural greenery and decorate with fir cones, ribbons, cinnamon sticks etc that can be used each year. If replacing lights, LED versions will last a long time and consume less energy.
Avoid the temptation to change all your decorations each year to follow the latest trend (just don't answer the door to the fashion police!).
Food
So much food gets wasted over Christmas. If you don't like cranberry sauce, don't buy it - saves waste and pennies too. Further ways to reduce Food Waste here.
Gifts
Some people agree to no gifts, others have a family outing instead. Ask for a list to avoid buying something unwanted. More thoughts here.
Wrapping Paper
Wrap present in a scarf as a way of giving another gift. Use a gift bag or pretty box that can be reused. Choose brown paper and decorate with ribbon (reuseable).
Try to avoid metallic papers as they cannot be recycled. Make your own gift tags from last year's Christmas cards.
Save the best pieces of wrapping paper to use again. Recycle paper in kerbside black box or cardboard recycling (though not the metallic sort).